Alpine House - Sundial Lodge - The Canyons Resort

The designer on this project wanted quite a rustic look so the floor was sand blasted to give it a more course texture.  With the stain we definitely got what we wanted.  Next week I will be doing an addition to it next door where the Sundial Cafe used to be.



This one is different - it turned out nice and the customer was really pleased.  He thought to make it like the solar system.  It was really fun to do.  Not many people would do this in their driveway I think, but I always enjoy doing something out of the ordinary.



I'm telling you, there's no other way to do your basement floor.  Even the not so perfectly finished concrete slab can be stained and sealed to look fabulous.  Acid stain even makes cracks in the concrete look natural, like they belong there.

Deer Valley Driveway

Acid stained driveway

Little Cottonwood Res.

Driveway's - tell me acid stain isn't the best lookin' way to do concrete.  Main field was a pretty straight forward process.  The borders were done by hand to make individual stones various colors.

In the back yard I overcoated the pool deck.  The contractor who poured the deck and the coping poured them different colors.  I made them the same. 

Contrary to what you all might think, Concrete Guise (guys) think about other things than concrete once in a while.  It's usually about fishing with their kids!  Sometimes while we're doing concrete we think about fishing; even sometimes while we're fishing we think about concrete.  We're nuts about fishing and nuts about concrete.  Some days I think we're nuts to do concrete - it can be really back-breaking work.

Daddy's girl pulled at least a dozen fishies out of this perfect little stream - yes, of course it's location is undisclosed!  I can't believe you'd even ask!

Beehive Brick & Stone

More acid stained concrete floors.

These cool cousins are standing on a neat little concrete bridge at my sister-in-law's nursery in So. California.  They had this made, along with a water fall and stream years ago before they knew I was the one for the job.  I may actually have still been in diapers when her parents had it installed.

Riverton Residence

I think I may have mentioned once or twice or maybe a hundred times; acid stain is my favorite way to disGUISE concrete.  This homeowner came to see me before he even built his house to find out what he needed to do to make the best concrete slab for the best acid stain finish.  They poured good concrete, finished it well, cut the lines, and protected it throughout the construction of the house.  I think this is the only floor I've done that didn't require paint and/or glue removal.

After seeing this, can you think of a nicer way to finish your basement floor?

  Of course not!  Call me!

Farmington Residence

On this job we got to do a little of everything:  precast pieces (the shower shelf and bench, mini-bar countertop), polymer modified concrete for the shower walls and floor, and acid stain for the whole floor.  For this floor we got to use almost every color of acid stain we had available to us.  I love when we have unique projects.

   

Rod Works

The owners of Rod Works sent me to a Day Spa to look at the concrete in their lobby.  They wanted similar colors.  After I saw the colors I started to work out the design in my head, but I called to ask if it would be okay to do my own design (The design at the Day Spa was hideous to me) using their desired colors.  They told me to go ahead with my design - fortunately so - otherwise I couldn't post any photos.  So far I've done four of their stores.  The colors, and textures are so fun to do, and the floors perfectly complement their merchandise and displays.

Layton, UT

Try to ignore the dust foot prints these - I took the photos the day they moved in.

Springville, UT

Layton, UT (old store)

Draper, UT

Stilsucht

I found this picture while I was lost in the Internet.  I don't know who did it but the architect/ designer who at least has rights to the photo is Transparent House.  I love it!  Once in a while someone does something with concrete that just makes me think - is there anything else!?  I've done a fair amount of stenciling (Overlay, Color Hardener, Dye & Stain, and Sand Blasting) but would love to do one as intricate as this.

Someone left a comment on the blog where I found the picture, saying that they were looking for a company that specializes in this type of concrete art.  I think they're looking for me!  I wonder if they would fly me to Germany, to do the floor in their house.

Salt Lake City Residence

I can't believe it's concrete!  Can you?!?!?  These projects are so fun for me.  I don't think I could do concrete for a living if I didn't get to do finishes like these as often as I do.  It's also a great pleasure sometimes to work for clients like the resident of this house where we installed these counters and the shower.  They approved color and design samples then just said, "Go for it!  We love your artistic touch - do what you do!"  They have guests in the house often and no one can believe it's concrete.

The counter tops with the built-in sinks, the tombstone shaped shelf and surround in the shower, and the threshold or step into the shower floor are precast, polished concrete.  The shower walls are made with polymer modified concrete overlay materials by Absolute Concrete Colors.  It is all sealed with a water based epoxy.

The Lighting System

Chemical or Acid Stain is my favorite way to transform concrete from it's reputation of ordinary dull lifelessness, to seem warm, natural, and comfortable if not just beautiful.  This is a good example to me of how comfortable concrete can seem.

The finish on these floors makes maintenance so easy.  Businesses love to have their showrooms, offices, reception areas, bathrooms, conference rooms, etc. finished with stain and sealer for the beauty and easy maintenance.  Routine wet mopping with mild, neutral cleaners is all it takes.  Every couple of years, high speed burnishing with a soft natural fiber pad is recommended to bring back the gloss.

Deer Crest Residence

In this huge house we did concrete on most of the ground floor - about 3000 ft is concrete.  On this project we even poured and finished the concrete itself, though we specialize in concrete staining and overlay.  We're not bad, eh!  We cut the lines for the floor design as the only control joints.  We hoped that since there were so many cuts that it would be enough to channel the potential cracking even though the design cuts rarely went where there might be a weak point - like the corners of the walls.  Only one crack climbed out of the control cuts - luckily it's not very noticeable - they didn't even want me to try to fix it.  Concrete cracks!!!

 

After we cut the lines, we masked the 6 inch ribbon sections the first of many times, and applied a few coats of Overcoat (a polymer modified cement product by Absolute Concrete Colors) in order to achieve a slightly tinted, white cement base.  If we stained the regular concrete it would never be light enough.  Then we had to take the masking off the ribbon sections and mask the 6 foot squares to protect them from the stain when we applied it to the ribbons.  We masked both sides of each saw cut to grout them.  We went through a lot of tape and plastic.  It turned out so beautiful - just like the rest of the house.  It is full of the most beautiful wood work, wall papers and plasters. carpets, tiles, and stone.  Richard Kennedy Construction built the house.  It was a fantastic project to work on and a great contractor to work for.